Adapalene is making my skin SUPER oily?

I'm on adapalene .1% cream and I've only used it a few days now, but my skin has always been very dry and flaky. I was expecting it to make my face even more dry and sensitive. Is this normal? I wash my face at night before applying it. Should I also wash in the morning to keep the oil at bay?

Responses (2)

GO

gommiebears22 Nov 2016

What kind of cleanser are you using? If you are using a non-medicated, non-soap cleanser such as Cetaphil or its equivalent in the international setting, that should be good. It is also okay to wash your face in the morning with a non-medicated, non-soap containing cleanser and use a water based moisturizer and sunscreen. Hopefully you are using a pea size amount for your whole face. If the oily face still persist, ask your derm to switch you over to the gel.

When I first went on Adapalene my skin would get super dry, and painful if I applied too much. Now, after 4 months of usage it does the exact opposite, and makes my skin oily as well. Salicylic acid helped to keep the oil at bay, but only for a few hours, so I eventually just stopped using my Adapalene.